DAVID CLARK WINS LAKE TAHOE OPENER
Another Gold Ring for David Clark -- His Second

“I Just Want to Catch Up with La La,” Latest WSOP Circuit Winner Says

Dallas Touring Poker Pro Wins Lake Tahoe Opener

WSOP Circuit at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Runs through November 21st


Stateline, NV (November 11, 2011) – David Clark keeps rolling along.

He just won the opening event at this year’s World Series of Poker Circuit stop at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, in Stateline, NV.  Clark collected $18,201 in prize money, which was his second-best career poker payout ever.  This marked his tenth time to cash on the Circuit, all since 2010.

For his victory, Clark was presented with the coveted gold ring, his second, which is the ultimate token of achievement for winning a WSOP Circuit tournament.  Clark’s first victory took place at the Choctaw Casino, in January of this year – which paid $50,921. 

“I just want to catch up with La La,” Clark jokingly stated moments after winning his second WSOP Circuit title, referring to his girlfriend La Sengphet’s two gold ring victories, a fourth-place finish in last year's National Championship, plus a Ladies Championship pendant.  Clark and Sengphet travel around the country together playing in poker tournaments and now have four titles between them – all coming in 2011.

“Yeah, I’m still ahead of him,” Sengphet said matter-of-factly, referring to her impressive record against Clark’s.  The back and forth banter between the poker couple was followed by a heartfelt hug and kiss.

This was the first of 12 gold ring tournaments to be played at Lake Tahoe.  The two-day $300 (+45) No-Limit Hold’em event began on Thursday and ended the following night.  The tournament attracted 260 entries.  The total prize pool came to $75,660.  The top 27 players were paid.  All players who cashed received WSOP Circuit National Championship ranking points.

A full list of all players that cashed in Event #1 can be seen at WSOP.COM

The first of two sessions included the elimination of 247 during the first day.  There were 13 survivors who resumed and played down to the final table.  After another hour of play, the nine finalists were determined as follows:

SEAT 1:  Taylor Skeets (Truckee, CA) – 87,000 in chips
SEAT 2:  Robert Nicholson (Castro Valley, CA) – 103,000 in chips
SEAT 3:  Shawn Van Asdale (Reno, NV) – 280,000 in chips
SEAT 4:  Iris Kuzu (Napa, CA) – 57,000 in chips
SEAT 5:  Prak Pich (Sacramento, CA) – 439,000 in chips
SEAT 6:  David Clark (Dallas, TX) – 750,000 in chips
SEAT 7:  Aryeh “Diesel” Cohen (Brooklyn, NY) – 121,000 in chips
SEAT 8:  Frank Williams (Danville, CA) – 409,000 in chips
SEAT 9:  Michael Rosenbach (San Francisco, CA) – 366,000

Final table play began at 3:15 pm local time.

9th Place – Taylor Skeels, from Truckee, CA was bounced off the final table within the first ten minutes.  This was the first final table appearance for the part-time 22-year-old poker player.

8th Place – Frank Williams suffered a nightmare 20 minutes at the final table.  He came in ranked third in chips, but tangled with the wrong player at the wrong time.  Williams tried to make a move on the river of what turned out to be his final hand.  David Clark called the raise with the stone-cold nuts and eliminated Williams in eighth place.  Williams is a 47-year-old construction manager from Danville, CA.

7th Place – Aryeh “Diesel” Cohen ran out of fuel and ended up in seventh place.  He is an attorney who has also acted in a movie as well as an off-Broadway play.  This was Cohen’s third time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event and first appearance at a final table.

6th Place – Iris Kuzu, a professional tennis player from Napa, CA double-faulted and went out in sixth place.  She arrived at the final table as one of the shortest stacks, and did manage to move a few spots up the money ladder.  This marked her first time to cash in a major poker tournament.

5th Place – Michael Rosenbach went bust about two hours into play.  He is a 29-year-old poker pro from San Francisco.  This was his second time to cash in a WSOP Circuit event, after making the money one time at last year’s Lake Tahoe series. 

4th Place – Robert Nicholson, a 35-year-old self-described homeless man from Castro Valley, CA finished in fourth place.

3rd Place – Prak Pich, from Sacramento, CA ended up in third place.  He survived a few all-ins before being busted out by Shawn Van Asdale.  This was Pich’s highest recorded tournament finish.  Third place paid $8,127.

2nd Place – Shawn Van Asdale finished as the runner up.  He collected $11,249 in prize money.  Van Asdale is a 39-year-old poker pro from Reno, NV.  His biggest accomplishment was a victory in the Sunday Million (online tournament).

When heads-up play began, David Clark enjoyed about a 2 to 1 chip advantage.  The duel lasted about an hour.  Clark increased his advantage and then lost a key hand that could have been a turning point had Van Asdale been able to double up once more.  But Clark won the final hand of the tournament which was dealt as follows:

Clark:     
Van Asdale:     
Flop:       
Turn:   
River:   

Clark’s pocket fives played, even though there were two pair on board.  His fives and fours ended up as the winning hand.

1st Place – David Clark, a 33-year-old professional poker player from Dallas won his second career WSOP Circuit gold ring.  He collected $18,201.  When asked about his accomplishments, Clark noted that he is “La La Sengphet’s boyfriend.”

Clark’s win was a wire-to-wire victory.  He was never in serious danger of elimination.  During the four-hour final table, he held the chip lead during the entire time.

With his victory, Clark moves into the top spot as the early leader in this WSOP Circuit’s “Best All-Around Player” standings.  The player who accumulates the most overall points in Lake Tahoe’s twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas, next May.  At least two players from this tournament series will qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is classified as a WSOP gold bracelet event.  The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of Lake Tahoe’s Main Event championship.

With the first tournament wrapped up, there are still 11 more gold ring events remaining in what is being billed as a “12 rings in 12 days” poker series.  The WSOP Circuit at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe continues through November 21st.  This year’s schedule includes not only all the gold ring events, but multiple second-chance tournaments (at 5 pm and 7 pm most days), single table and mega satellites, plus cash games going around the clock inside the Harvey’s Poker Room.



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ABOUT HARVEY’S LAKE TAHOE RESORT & CASINO      

Harveys Resort & Casino is the largest resort casino property at Lake Tahoe.  A wide variety of resort features include:  740 rooms and suites; nearly 75,000 square feet of casino space; five great restaurants including the stunning 19 Kitchen • Bar (overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe), Hard Rock Cafe, Sammy Hagar’s famous Cabo Wabo Cantina and the elegant Sage Room Steakhouse (est. 1947); a full-service health club and pool; elaborate convention center services; Harveys Cabaret theatre (home of the Improv Comedy Club); race and sportsbook; poker room; wedding chapel; and family arcade.  Harveys also presents the celebrated Lake Tahoe Summer Concert Series, which features superstar artists including Elton John, Eagles, Bob Dylan, Kenny Chesney and many more.  In 2010, Harveys Resort & Casino was awarded 35 Casino Player Magazine Best of Gaming Awards including:  Best Steakhouse (Sage Room); Best Headliners; Best Video and Reel Slots; Best Race/Sportsbook; Best Poker Room and Best Poker Tournaments.  For more information and reservations, please visit:  www.HarveysTahoe.com.